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FIND THE BEST FARES

For both domestic and international fares, Kayak is the place to start. The Google of travel, it's the fastest and most comprehensive search engine. In just a couple of minutes, it will fetch hundreds of airline fares, from Delta to Darwin Airline. And it will search other sites, such as Groople.com (which specializes in group trips) and Onetravel.com (which focuses on business and first-class travel and specials for seniors).

You don't book fares through Kayak; instead, it redirects you to the Web site that offers the fare you select. However, it does pass along your search criteria, so all you have to do is confirm the flight details and book your ticket. Kayak doesn't guarantee that you'll get exactly the same fare, so double-check the price before paying up.

As comprehensive as Kayak is, it doesn't list prices for some major discount carriers (notably Southwest) as well as some smaller airlines. Airfarewatchdog.com is the best place to keep an eye on these. It's also usually the first to sniff out the lowest fares offered through unadvertised "fire sales," when airlines try to fill empty seats or promote less-popular routes by dropping fares and posting the discounts on their own sites.

In early March, for instance, Airfarewatchdog listed July round-trip flights on Skybus from Los Angeles -- Burbank to Columbus, Ohio, at $271, including taxes and fees. The cheapest similar itinerary on Kayak was $400 on Delta. With Airfarewatchdog, you can sign up to receive e-mail alerts on deals from up to five departure airports. But like Kayak, it doesn't book your flight for you -- it redirects you and your search criteria to the site where you need to go to close the deal.

There is one exception, however, and it's a big one: Southwest.com is the only site that won't allow Airfarewatchdog to pass on your search criteria, which means you have to re-enter all your information. Despite Southwest's won't-play-ball attitude, it's worth the trouble to check with the site directly. For example, a round-trip flight between San Antonio and Las Vegas in March cost $185 on Southwest, compared with $223 for the cheapest trip on Kayak. You can download a tool that sends you alerts about Southwest fares from up to ten airports of your choosing.

No matter where you find your flight, travel expert Anne Banas, who pens the "Escapes Under $500" column on SmarterTravel.com, suggests that you book directly with the airline. Many online travel agencies, such as Expedia and Orbitz, charge a fee of $3 to $15. And it's cheaper to book online than by phone, which can cost you an additional $5 to $25, says Banas.

You'll be glad you worked directly with the airline if you get bumped. In 2007, complaints about overbooked flights jumped 53% over the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. When you buy a ticket directly from the airline, it is often more likely to help you get on another flight free. You're also more likely to be offered free-flight vouchers for volunteering to take a later flight.

FOR FLEXIBLE TRAVELERS

A number of sites specialize in ferreting out bargain airfares if your travel dates aren't set in stone. Farecast.com goes one better by telling you whether you should wait to book because rates may go even lower.

You type in your basic criteria -- departure and destination airports, approximate dates for takeoff and return -- and the site lists itineraries and options. Red, orange and green arrows indicate whether it's a good time to book your flight.

If Farecast predicts that fares will rise over the following seven days, the arrow is green. The site estimates the dollar amount of the expected increase and rates how confident it is in that prediction. A red arrow means you should wait to book because fares may fall; orange means rates are expected to stay about the same.

In late February, we searched for a flight from Baltimore to Phoenix, departing May 16 and returning May 18 -- a weekend as far ahead as Farecast could make predictions. The site advised us to hold off on booking a $300 fare; it was 52% sure that fares would fall by $28 to $77 in the following seven days. Sure enough, the fare dropped by $38 two days later.

If you're flexible on dates, you can take advantage of Farecast's Flexible Map/Graph. First, select your departure and destination cities from among nearly 100 locations -- including most major U.S. cities, Puerto Rico and a few stops in Canada. Next, pick a departure date. The site will search for flights leaving on that date and up to six months afterward. Farecast will list all the lowest fares for date combinations within that time frame, for a trip from two to eight days long.

We searched in late February for a trip between Jacksonville, Fla., and Chicago anytime during the 30-day period after March 21. Farecast turned up a low fare of $249 (the highest was $366), which was available for trips with several different combinations of dates. Farecast also predicted that better deals would soon follow. A week later, the lowest fare dropped to $179.

LOCATION, LOCATION

You can rack up additional savings if you're flexible about your destination, too. Farecast lets you plug up to five different arrival cities into your search. So if you're in Boston and want to travel to Florida, you can compare fares to Miami, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale in one fell swoop. If you don't have even a state in mind, hop on Kayak and use the Buzz tool.

Suppose you want to hit the beach or cross the pond but you're not locked in to a specific destination. Just search for a region, such as the Caribbean or Europe, and the site will select cities with the best deals. You can be equally vague about your departure date, searching for trips that leave within a calendar month, sometime during the six upcoming weekends, or just anytime.

The best time to score the sweetest deals is Wednesday morning, says Banas. That's when airlines release their list of last-minute fares for the coming weekend.

Aptly named LastMinute.com is tops for this kind of planned spontaneity. And it'll save you time, too. You can simultaneously buy your tickets and book a hotel just a few hours before takeoff. For example, a trip we booked in late February from New York City to Jamaica less than 24 hours before departure included round-trip airfare and a four-night stay in a three-star hotel for a mere $586, including taxes and fees. A similar trip booked three months in advance on Kayak would have come in at $782 -- excluding taxes and fees. You can even customize your trip with a car rental, activities and airport parking.

OTHER TOP SITES

A number of Web sites help you cope with the annoyances of modern travel: luggage limits, cramped seats and flight delays.

In February, United Airlines and US Airways broke the news that they'd begin charging travelers $25 for more than one checked suitcase. Couple that with carry-on restrictions and luggage can be a heavy burden.

Visit TheTravelInsider.com to lighten your load. In addition to posting airline reviews and travel-industry commentary, the site outlines baggage policies for 15 domestic airlines. It tells you how many bags you can check free and how much you'll pay for extra luggage. It also lists the maximum weight and size permitted.

If you fly United, for instance, in addition to paying $25 for a second bag, TheTravelInsider.com reports you could get stuck with an extra $100 charge for a bag that's overweight (51 to 99 pounds) or oversize (between 62 and 115 inches in length). If it's too big and too heavy, that's another $200. Compare baggage fees.

Scrimping on the price of your ticket doesn't mean you have to sacrifice comfort once you're on board. To get the best seat in the air, check with SeatGuru.com, which uses a color-coded system to let you know which seats have the most legroom or don't recline. Even if you already have an assigned seat, you can contact the airline and try to switch to a better one.

And before your mad dash to the airport, make sure you're not just rushing to wait at the gate. Through AvoidDelays.com, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association updates flight delays and can send you alerts via phone or e-mail. You can also visit the site while booking to figure out the best time of day to fly out of a given airport or which airports to avoid for connecting flights. The site reports that in November 2007, the worst offender for delayed arrivals was New York's LaGuardia Airport. If you can't avoid LaGuardia, make sure you have plenty of time to switch flights.

NEXT: See Our Best 30 Travel Web sites

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